Explanation:
The latest invader from Earth, the
Mars Polar Lander (MPL) spacecraft,
is scheduled to touch down on the
Red Planet's surface on
Friday, December 3rd.
If all goes well the
robotic explorer will open a parachute, deploy
landing legs, fire thrusters,
and come to rest amidst rolling plains of
intriguing layered terrain near the Martian South Pole.
In this orbital image,
a grid overlays
the landing region with the targeted site
indicated by a purple oval about 200 kilometers long
by 20 kilometers wide.
A secondary landing site is shown as a white oval while
at the upper left an inset shows the area in relation to
the pole.
This polar landing region's layered terrain will
hopefully allow MPL's instruments
to view a record of climate changes in
Martian history, like
reading tree rings or layers in an ice core.
Before landing, MPL will drop off
two microprobes intended to penetrate the soil
and look for water ice.
Mars Polar Lander will also carry a small
Mars Microphone.